The Saskatchewan Rush has been left looking for answers on offence following their 12-6 loss to the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday.
The loss marked the third time in five games this season the Rush was held to single-digit scoring, something that only happened three times all last season.
The team is averaging over 57 shots per game, good for second in the NLL, however, the conversion rate hasn’t been there for Saskatchewan
The Rush are averaging just 9.2 goals per game, the third-lowest mark in the league.
“We’ve got to finish, we’ve got to find a way to score more goals, it’s not just at home, it’s everywhere too,” said forward Ben McIntosh.
“We’ve really got to dial it in and find a way so we’ll watch film, Bubs (assistant coach Jeff McComb) will break it down. I’m confident we’ll figure it out but it’s definitely time and especially with the divisions getting bigger, only two teams (are) making it so we’ve got to start winning games, especially in our division.”
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“It’s up to our offensive guys especially, who’re getting quality looks,” head coach and general manager Derek Keenan added.
“I know they’re trying; it’s not like they’re not trying to score, but, they’re pros, they’ve got to bury a majority of those chances to give us a chance to win.”
Since the Rush opened their season on Nov. 26 in Colorado the team has dealt with an erratic schedule, playing in back-to-back weeks just once. However, that lack of consistency ends after their current two-week break.
“After we have our break we play 13 games in 12 weeks, no time off, so, the expectation is that we’re going to be a lot sharper and ready to go,” Keenan said.
Heading into their final break on such a sour note could serve as a motivating factor for the Rush, according to their captain.
“It’s not ideal, for sure. I don’t want to lean on anything as far as excuses,” Chris Corbeil said. “But, as far as the two weeks off go, this is a tough one to sit on for two weeks, so that’s probably the worst part of all of this. Go home and stew over all of this now, but, hopefully it leads to a motivated group.”
Teams around the league have deployed new defensive schemes to tame the high-flying Rush offence, to some success this season. But, with the extra week of practice, the team has time to make adjustments.
“We’ve already started on that, (we’re) working on it,” Keenan said. “We understand that teams are playing against us, very tight, almost zone type defence, so, we’re figuring out ways to attack.”
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